LP - Man Man - Carrot On Strings

1LP - indie only Loser version

When Man Man released its last album, "Dream Hunting In The Valley Of The In Between", frontman Honus Honus (née Ryan Kattner) was in a state of unrest, oscillating between hope and cynicism. Perhaps fittingly, the album dropped during the pandemic, a time at which we could all relate. But, much like that bizarre turn of events, the ennui now seems so distant to Man Man.

A revived sense of purpose washes through Man Man's new album, "Carrot On Strings", radiating a mix of calm and confidence. The album nods to the films of Werner Herzog and Rainer Werner Fassbinder as much as Italo-disco, Randy Newman, goth rock, and avant pop. In a bid to not overthink anything - his last album took seven years to make - he recorded the bulk of "Carrot On Strings" in five days with "very chill" producer Matt Schuessler, who had worked on Man Man's cover of Neu!'s "Super" for the seminal Krautrock band's box set.

The resulting album represents a newfound sense of self for Kattner, who finds himself inspired and at peace both personally and artistically in ways that eluded him for most of his first 15 years playing music.